Dry cleaning apparatus and method



Juhe 11, 1935.

J. E. MARTIN DRY CLEANING APPARATUS AND METHOD Filed Jan. 18, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l /rwe/u bov 1 Jaw/V WARD/Y,

June 11, 1935. J. E. MARTIN 2,004,375

DRY CLEANING APPARATUS AND METHOD Filed Jan. 18, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 11, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE "2.004.376 DRY CLEANING APPARATUS AND METHOD John E. Martin, St. Louis, Mo., assignor, by mesne assignments, toThe Band Box Corporation, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application January 18, 1930, Serial No. 421,853

18 Claims.

cleaningliquid such for instance, as naphtha or carbon tetra-chloride.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide an apparatus whereby articles may be cleaned in a cleaning liquid and which will operate to keep the liquid clean and substantially free from impurities.

Another object is to provide a machine for cleaning articles in which the cleaning liquid may be filtered periodically.

Another object is-to provide cleaning apparatus which may be operated to clarify the cleaning liquid by distillation.

Another object is to provide such an apparatus which may be operated to clarify the liquid both by filtration and by distillation.

Another object is to provide a self-contained apparatus capable of cleaning fabric articles in a cleaning liquid and which may be operated to filter or distill the liquid or both in order to clarify the same. l l i Another object is to provide such apparatus which shall be cheap to construct and which is simple and reliable in operation. 7

Further objects will appear from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings; in which,

Figure l is a vertical sectional view of an apparatus embodying this invention;

Figure 2 is a horizontal section of a modified apparatus showing another embodiment of this invention'taken on line 2-2 of Figure 3;

Figure Skis a vertical section on line 33 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a detail of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings and more particularly to the embodiment illustrated in Figure 1, a cleaning'tub I is provided which may be constructed of metal or other suitable material and provided with a suitable cover 2. Mounted centrally in the tub I is a pedestal 3 which is hollow and hasmounted therein driving mechanism for a rotating barrel or basket 4. The driving mechanism housed in the pedestal 3 is arranged to rotate the basket 4 either in an inclined position as shown in Figure 1 or at a higher rate of speed in a horizontal position as indicated by dotted lines in Fig.3. This driving mechanism forms no part of the present invention and is well known in the art so that a detailed description thereof will not be necessary.

.This mechanism includes, however, a vertical shaft 45 driven at a relatively high speed and an inclined shaft 46 driven at a lower speed. The basket 4 is equipped with a coupling 48 which may be coupled with either of the shafts 45 or 46 according to the position in which the basket is set. The basket itself is equipped with a hood 41 overhanging the upper end of the housing 3 and providing a shield adapted to prevent any of the cleaning liquid from dripping into the upper end of said housing and contaminating the lubricant used in the bearings. As the basket rotates any liquid which may tend to run toward the hood 4! is thrown from the rim thereof by centrifugal force and thereby prevented from entering the bearings.

The tub I is divided by a partition 5 into a cleaning chamber on the left of said partition in Fig. 1 anda filtering chamber on the right of said partition. The filtering chamber may be packed with a suitable filtering medium 6 such as cotton or the like adapted to remove suspended impurities from the liquid filtered.

Mounted below the tub I but not visible in the drawings is a motor of any suitable type which is connected to drive the rotating mechanism housed within the pedestal 3 and is also connected by a belt I or other suitable connection to the pulley 8 ofa pump 9. The pump 9 has its suction end connected through a valve In to draw the liquid from the space below a horizontal perforated partition II in the filtering chamber.

The partition ll supports the filtering medium 6 clear of the bottom of the chamber so as to provide a collection space for the filtered liquid. The discharge end of the pump 9 is connected to a pipe I2-which extends into the cleaning chamber and is provided with a discharge head I3 adapted to deliver the liquid .to the cleaning chamber. A port I4 in the bottom of thepartition 5 is normally closed by a slide l5. This slide when opened establishes communication through the port l4 between the cleaning chamber and the space below the partition l'l In the operation of this embodiment of the invention the cleaning chamber is filled with the cleaning liquid and the articles to be cleaned are placed in the basket-4. The latter is then mounted to be in inclined position as shown in Fig. 1. The motor is started to rotate the basket 4. In its inclined position one edge of the basket 4 dips into the cleaning liquid so that the articles in the basket are saturated thereby. 'Thebasket is provided with internal partitions or baiiles l6 which operate to tumble the articles in the basket during the rotation thereof. This operation serves to pass the cleaning liquid repeatedly through the pores of the articles so as to clean the same.

During the rotation of the basket some of the cleaning liquid is continually carried upward over the partition and drips or is splashed into the filtering chamber upon the filtering medium 6. The liquid so deposited in the filtering chamber passes down through the filtering medium leaving its suspending impurities in the filtering medium and collecting in the space below the partition H. The collected liquid is then drawn off by the pump 9 and returned through. the pipe I2 to the cleaning chamber. In this way the cleaning liquid is continually circulated and passing through the filtering medium is continually clarified. Accordingly, the liquid in the cleaning chamber is always kept clear and its cleaning efficiency is therefore maintained at a high value.

As the action of the pump is continually drawing liquid from the compartment below the par-,

tition II at a greater rate than the liquid enters said compartment through the filtering medium, a suction is maintained in this compartment. This suction acts upon the filtering medium and tends to draw the liquid through said medium at an accelerated rate. Accordingly, a great deal more liquid may be filtered in a given time with aid of such suction.

A flexible tube 38 is connected through a valve 39 to the discharge of the pump 9. This tube may be used to drain the tub and pump the liquid to a suitable storage container. It may also be used for filtering the entire charge of liquid.

This may be accomplished by closing the-valve 40 in the pipe I 2 and opening the valve 39 and the slide [5. The free end of the tube 38 is then inserted in the top of the tub I, after removing the cover 2. draw the liquid from the tub and deliver it through the tube 38 which may be directed to deposit the liquid in the filtering chamber. In this way the entire charge of liquid may be passed through the filter as often as desired in order to clarify the same.

During the cleaning operation the cleaning liquid not only accumulates suspended impurities such as dirt and grit which are carried out of the articles but alsoaccumulates other impurities which are dissolved out of the articles and are held in solution in the liquid. In order to free the liquid of such dissolved impurities the apparatus illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 is. provided.

In this embodiment, the tub I is divided by a partition 5 into cleaning and filtering chambers as above described for Figure 1, and the basket 4 is also mounted therein as previously described.

Surrounding the tub I is a second shell or container ll. This is spaced from the walls of the tub I so as to provide therebetween an annular condensing chamber, 18, which embraces or surrounds the cleaning tub. The container [1 is provided with a lateral crescent-shaped extension l9 spaced outwardly from the wall of the chamber l8 and providing an evaporation chamber 20 which embraces or partly surrounds the condensing chamber as shown in Figure 2;

The evaporation chamber 20 has mounted therein any suitableheating means such as the steam coils 2|. Thesemay be connected to any suitable source of steam supply not shown. It is understood, of course, that other heating means such, for instance, as an electric heater may be used in place of the coils 2|. A cover 22 is provided, which may be clamped down upon the container by means of suitable clamping fasten- Operation of the pump will now ers 23, which covers the entire apparatus and closes and seals the various chambers thereof, against the escape of fumes or the like.

That part of the wall of the container H which separates the evaporation chamber 20 from the condensing chamber I8 is arranged to terminate short of the top of the container as indicated at 24 so as to leave thereabove a space through which communication is established between the evaporating chamber and the condensing chamber. Within the condensing chamber l8 there is mounted a suitable cooling medium such as the cooling coils 25 through which cooling water may be circulated from any suitable source not shown. The coils 25 are preferably arranged so as to contact with the walls of the tub I. In fact they may be conveniently formed by winding the tubing directly on the outside of the tub I. This construction renders the coils 25 capable of cooling not only the vapors entering from the chamber 20 and the liquid condensed therefrom but also the cleaning liquid contained in the cleaning chamber within the tub I. An opening or port 26 is provided establishing communication between the cleaning chamber and the lower part of the condensing chamber IS.

The cooling action of the coils 25 is such as to keep the walls of the cleaning chamber at a low temperature. As a result of keeping these walls cold, any vapor of the cleaning liquid which may be formed during the cleaning operation, as for instance, from the spray thrown up by the basket or from other causes, is condensed by contact with the cold Walls and the condensed liquid runs down those walls into the cleaning chamber or the filter. This action prevents the accumulation of vapor in the cleaning chamber so that there is no tendency for such vapor to pass out of the chamber. This not only prevents loss of liquid through evaporation but it prevents the escape of vapors when the cover 22 is removed.

The pump 9 has its suction end connected by a pipe 30 to the space below the partition II in the filtering chamber. The discharge end of the pump has a pipe connected for discharging in either one of three ways; namely, through a valve 3| and a pipe 32 to supply liquid to the evaporating chamber 20, through a pipe 33 and a valve 34 to return the filtered liquid to the condensing chamber over the cooling coils 25, and through a valve 35 to discharge the liquid from the apparatus to any suitable storage container or other receptacle. Connected to the pipe 32 is a vent pipe 35; The pipe 36 may be carried out of the building in which the apparatus is contained or otherwise suitably disposed of. It provides a communication with the outer atmosphere so as to avoid the establishment of a vacuum within the apparatus due to condensation of the vapors or otherwise. The upper edge of the tub I may be perforated as indicated at 31 so that the interior of the tub will also be vented by the pipe 36.

In the operation of this embodiment of the invention, the cleaning chamber is filled with liquid and the cleaning operation carried out as described in connection with Figure 1. During normay operation the valves 3| and 35 are closed and the valve 34 is opened. This provides fordrawing the liquid from the filtering chamber and returning it to the cleaning chamber by way of the condensing chamber. If desired, the cooling water may be circulated in the coils 25 at this time so that the liquid entering the condensing chamber by way of the valve 34 will pass over the liquid from the pores of the articles.

articles are removed from the machine at this cooling coils so as to keep it at a low temperature.

The apparatus is supplied with a suflicient amount of liquid to fill the cleaning chamber to the top of the partition and, in addition, to about half fill the filtering chamber. The pump is kept in operation so as to maintain a continuous supplyof liquid to the cleaning chamber such'that it flows over the top of the partition into the filtering chamber. This operates to maintain a constant level of liquid in the cleaning chamber so that the articles in the basket 4 are assured of an ample. supply of liquid.

When it is desired to clarify the liquid the valve 34 may be closed and the valve 3| opened. In this way the liquid will be drawn from the filtering chamber and deposited in the evaporation chamber 20. The steam may now be turned on in the coils 2| so as to evaporate the liquid in the chamber 20. The vapors so formed will pass over the edge 24 of the container I! so as to come in contact with the cooling coils 25. The cooling effects of these coils will condense the vapor and the liquid so formed will pass over the cooling coils and will be cooled by the time it reaches the bottom of the condensing chamber l8. From this point it will pass through the port,26 into the cleaning chamber. In this way the liquid will be completely clarified so as to be free of both the impurities in suspension and the impurities in solution.

When the cleaning operation has been finished, the basket 4 is set horizontally and spun at a high speed so as to throw the liquid out of the cleaned articles. Spinning will remove nearly all of glie As e point all traces of cleaning may be finally eliminated'therefrom by exposing the articles, for a few minutes, to the draft of an ordinary fan. The articles may, however, be completely dried in the machine itself. For this purpose, a heat unit 49 may be mounted'on the cover 22. This unit should be a type which has no tendency to induce chemical dissociation of the liquid. A convenient heater for this purpose is an ordinary incandescent electric lamp, preferably of high power. If desired, a small blower 50 having a suitable intake port (not shown) may be arranged to blow air over the heater 49 and into the basket 4, although such a draft of air is not necessary. The heated draft in the pores of the articles and the vapor so formed is rapidly thrown out by the spinning movement. The excess air may then escape through ventv 31 and pipe 36 as hereinbefore described. Such vapors coming in contact with the cold walls of the tub I are immediately condensed. As a result of this the articles when removed from the basket are found to be absolutely dry and all traces of the cleaning liquid or odors thereof have been removed.

When it is desired to empty the apparatus of cleaning liquid the valve 35 may be opened and the valves 3| and 34 closed. At the same time the slide I5 is raised so as to open the port l4. In this way all of the liquid may be drained from the apparatus and discharged through the valve 35 It will be seen that this embodiment provides an apparatus by which the cleaning operation may be carried on while" the liquid is being clarified by filtration or by distillation or by both.-

By proper manipulation of the valves the vaporizing apparatus may be rendered inoperative and the clarification may be carried on by filtration only.

It has been found that cleaning liquids, such as carbon tetrachloride for the use of which this apparatus is particularly adapted, has the property that its vapor is heavier than air and, therefore,'does not rise in the atmosphere, but rests on the surface of the liquid; It also has the property that, under ordinary conditions and temperatures, the vapor resting on the liquid surface tends to maintain a fixed depth of about twenty-four inches over said surface. Accordingly, the walls of the tub I are made to extend some thirty inches, more or less, above the liquid level'so that there will be no tendency for the vapor to escape from the tub, even when the cover has been removed. This arrangement works a decided economy in liquid used, as these vapors are all condensed and returned for use.

This invention accordingly provides a very flexible apparatus which may be arranged to meet various conditions of operation by simple manipulation. The operator may adjust the process to suit the kind of articles which are to be cleaned and the: conditions of cleaning such as the nature of soil which is to be removed. All of these operations may be performed by the same apparatus, the change from one condition to another being simply a matter of manipulating the proper valves. v

While this apparatus has been described as a unitary machine, it will be understood that certain individual features thereof may be useful without reference to other parts of the combination and that the employment of such individual features or sub-combinations is contemplated by this invention and is within the scope of the appended claims.

It is further obvious that various changes may be made in details, withinthe scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of this invention. It is, therefore, to' be under-" stood that this invention is not to be limited to the specific details shown and/or described.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for cleaning fabric articles, comprising, a cleaning chamber having agitating means therein, an evaporating chamber for the cleaning liquid adjacent said cleaning chamber, and a condensing chamber for'the clean- 3. An apparatus for cleaning fabric articles,

comprising, a cleaning chamber having agitating means therein, an evaporating chamber for "the cleaning liquid embracing a substantial portion of said cleaning chamber, and a condensing chamber surrounding said cleaning chamber.

4. An apparatus for cleaning fabric articles, comprising, a tub having a partition providing a cleaning chamber anda filtering chamber, a filtering medium in said filtering chamber, an evaporating chamber for the cleaning liquid, a condensing chamber embracing said tub, and means for conveying the cleaning liquid from one of said chambers to another.

5. In an apparatus for cleaning fabric articles, a cleaning chamber having agitating means therein, a condensing chamber for the cleaning liquid embracing said cleaning chamber, and cooling means in said condensing chamber closely embracing said cleaning chamber.

6. An apparatus for cleaning fabric articles, comprising, a cleaning chamber, a condensing chamber surrounding said cleaning chamber, an evaporating chamber for the cleaning liquid embracing said condensing chamber, heating means in said evaporating chamber, and cooling means in said condensing chamber, and means for conveying the liquid from one of said chambers to another.

'7. An apparatus for cleaning fabric articles, comprising, a cleaning chamber having agitating means therein, a filtering chamber adjacent said cleaning chamber, a condensing chamber surrounding said cleaning chamber, an evaporating chamber for the washing liquid embracing a substantial portion of said condensing chamber heating means in said evaporating chamber and cooling means in said condensing chamber.

8. An apparatus for cleaning fabric articles, comprising, a tub having a transverse vertical partition providing a cleaning chamber and a filtering chamber, a filtering medium in said filtering chamber, and an article container mounted for rotation so as to dip into the cleaning liquid in said cleaning chamber and extending above said filtering chamber so as to carry liquid from the former to the latter chamber.

9. An apparatus for cleaning fabric articles, comprising, a tub having a transverse vertical partition providing a cleaning chamber and a filtering chamber, a filtering medium in said filtering chamber, and an article container mounted for rotation so as to dip into the cleaning liquid in said cleaning chamber and extending over said partition, whereby said container is adapted by its rotation to carry liquid from the former to the latter chamber.

10. An apparatus for cleaning fabric articles, comprising, a tub having a transverse vertical partition providing a cleaning chamber and a filtering chamber, a filtering medium in said filtering chamber, an article container mounted for rotation so as to dip into the cleaning liquid in said cleaning chamber and extending over said partition, whereby said container is adapted by its rotation to carry liquid from the former to the latter chamber, and means for transferring liquid from said filtering chamber to said cleaning chamber.

11. An apparatus for cleaning fabric articles, comprising, a tub having a transverse vertical partition providing a cleaning chamber and a filtering chamber, a filtering medium of close texture in said filtering chamber, an article container mounted for rotation across said partition on an inclined axis whereby said container is adapted by its rotation to carry liquid from the former to the latter chamber, and pumping means adapted to apply suction to said filtering medium and return the liquid to said cleaning chamber.

12. An apparatus for cleaning fabric articles, comprising, a tub having an upstanding partition providing a cleaning chamber and a filtering chamber adapted to receive loose filtering material to be packed therein, and, suction means connected to apply suction to said medium in said chamber.

13. An apparatus for cleaning fabric articles, comprising, a tub having an upstanding partition providing a cleaning chamber and a filtering chamber adapted to receive loose filtering material to be packed therein, and means for circulating the cleaning liquid thru said chambers in succession.

14. In the art of dry cleaning, theprocess comprising, agitating the batch to be cleaned in a bath of cleaning fluid at a temperature sufiiciently below that of the surrounding atmosphere to substantially retard evaporation of the fluid.

15. In the art of dry cleaning, the process comprising cooling cleaning fluid to temperature sufficiently below that of the surrounding atmosphere to substantially retard evaporation of the fluid, and washing the articles to be cleaned in the cooled fluid.

16. In the art of dry cleaning, the process comprising, agitating the batch to be cleaned in a bath of cleaning fluid and concurrently cooling the bath to substantially retard evaporation of the fluid.

17. In the art of dry cleaning, the process comprising, cooling cleaning fluid to temperature sufficiently below that of the surrounding atmosphere to substantially retard evaporation of the fluid, washing the articles to be cleaned in the cooled fiuid, and maintaining the temperature below that of the environs as the washing progresses.

18. A dry cleaning apparatus comprising a tub adapted to contain a bath of cleaning fluid, means in said tub for agitating the articles to be cleaned in contact with the bath of fluid, a filter in said tub arranged to receive overflow of fluid from the bath therein, and means surrounding said tub for cooling the fluid bath and the filter.

JOHN E. MARTIN. 

